The online discussion of Final Destination 5, hitting theaters this Friday, has been largely dominated by complaints that this fifth film tells the exact same story as the previous four entries. And indeed it does: this time inserting a young chef into the lead and a bridge collapse into the premonition. But the dark comedy of the film elevates the rote plot elements of the franchise to the level of high-low art, turning what should be a schlocky cash-in sequel to a past-its-prime horror franchise into something more akin to an especially memorable rendition of the “The Aristocrats”.  You know the set up, you know the punch line, but it’s the gory details in between that you actually care about.  If this is your genre, this is a movie worth seeing in a packed theater and in 3D.  And I never recommend 3D.

A few days ago I sat down with Arlen Escarpeta, P.J. Byrne and Courtney B. Vance to discuss the film. During out interview we talked about the visceral impact of seeing the film with an audience, the effect of reading the script for the first time, the development of the death scenes, Bryne’s real life lothario antics, how the film cleverly subverts tokenism in its’ portrayal of minority characters and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Arlen Escarpeta, P.J. Byrne, Courtney B. Vance

  • Have they seen the film with an audience yet
  • Did they know going in the order of the deaths
  • Courtney B. Vance talks about how he doesn't like horror films and hadn't seen any of the previous Final Destination films
  • Did the death scenes change at all during filming and did they have any input into them
  • P.J. Byrne talks about how he's a lothario
  • How the movie takes the token minority characters and flips them so they are the most qualified in the movie
  • How the characters made fewer stupid decisions than what we usually see in horror films
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